Oil and steam regulating valve



Apxrfifl 21, 1936., s. M. HANSEN 2,3?,97&

OIL AND STEAM REGULATING VALVE Filed July 25, 1954 s 'l'e am Fuel Dale 4o Burner IHVEHTUR S}US M.HGH en BY 4/46 M ATTURN EY Patented Apr. 21,1936 EJNITED STATES PATENT oFFicE 1 Claim.

The present invention relates to improvements in fuel valves for theregulation of steam supply, and more especially for steam supply systemswherein there is an intermittent demand for high heat, as in garmentpressing applications, restaurant heaters, etc. Heretofore, such deviceshave been regulated by valves which are in theory responsive to thepressure of the steam to out down the fuel supply to the burner, thusindirectly providing a floating regulation of the supply of steambetween predetermined limits of steam supply pressure and fuel supplypressure. In practice, however, the regulation obtained by such valveshas not been satisfactory as the range of variations has been too wide,and the lack of more accurate regulation has been a potentialfire-hazard. For example, certain devices of the prior art designed todo the work required, it has been customary'tdprovide a packing betweenthe steam side and the fuel side of the valve. This packing has thedisadvantage that it usually leaks and as a consequence, the regulationis destroyed and the results are deceptive to such a degree that theboiler may blow out. In some devices, also, the control of fuel to theburner is accomplished by means of a needle valve which cuts down theamount of fuel admitted to the burner by restricting the fuel passages.By my present invention I eliminate altogether the requirement for theuse of a packing and, furthermore, the area of the fuel passages to theburner is always constant, the control of the opening and closing of thefuel valve being accomplished by a special provision of my invention toafford close regulation thereof in response to the variations inpressure of the steam supplied to a bellows or sylphon actuating devicefor controlling said fuel valve. Thus, the regulation involved isaccurate and dependable; also, the structure is a far cheaper one tobuild from a manufacturing standpoint. My invention will be more clearlyunderstood by referring more specifically to the accompanyingspecification and drawing in which Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation of myimproved valve; Fig. 2 is a view of the steam inlet coupling flange;Fig. 3 is a partial sectional view on line A-A of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is apartial section taken on line B-B of Fig. 1 showing the fuel passagearound meteringpin adjustment, and Fig. 5 illustrates in partial sectionthe steam actuated bellows or sylphon for controlling the regulation ofthe fuel supply in response to the pressure of the steam.

Referring more specifically to the various figures of the drawing I,Fig. 1 represents the valve casing in which is a sylphon or bellows 2 ofsuitable metal secured within the casing by means of the steam inletflanged head 3, secured to the flanged head 2 by means of the gaskets 4and coupling-bolts 5. A passage 4 admits steam from the boiler (notshown) to the inside of the sylphon or bellows 2. The inner end of thisbellows is seated in what may be called a sylphon head 6 within thevalve casing I, a portion of the head being reduced in cross-sectionalarea to provide a chamber I to receive oil leakage around metering-pin 8resting on the sylphon head 6 and held in contact with bellows 2 byspring 6. The oil which leaks into chamber I has an outlet passage 9into oil by-pass passage Ill. Thus, by-passing of the leakage oil inchamber 'I prevents the building up of back pressure of said oil on thesteam sylphon or bellows 2, which would otherwise destroy the regulationby the amount of this leakage and corresponding back pressure. Forexample, if the bellows 2 was set to operate at sixty pounds to open thefuel valve and there should be a leak of oil into chamber 1 sufficientto build up a back pressure on the bellows 2 equal to say, five pounds,then although the bellows 2 may be set to operate at sixty pounds toopen fuel valve I6, the fuel valve I6 would not actually be opened untilthe steam pressure was sixty-five pounds.

In the right hand end of the main valve within the casing I is anotherchamber II closed by a valve-cap I2 screwed into the casing I. The wallof the chamber II is screw-threaded to receive the valve-cap I2 and thepressure regulating nut I3. The latter is chambered to receive a springI4 which abuts at one end against a flange I5 on a secondary valve I6which controls the passage of the fuel to the inlet passages I! and I8to the burner (not shown). The fuel inlet passage I'I communicates withan oil chamber I9 and passage 20 leading to by-pass II] which by-passesoil back to the oil supply tank. Valve I6 is provided with anadjusting-screw 2| to control the pressure on the sylphon or bellows 2for regulating the steam pressure required to open fuel Valve I6 againstthe action of spring I4. The fuel valve I6 in turn may be regulated byscrew I3. In order to regulate screw 2!, capscrew I2 and screw I3 arefirst removed and after screw 2| is regulated, screw I3 and screw I2 arereplaced. In order to regulate screw I3 it is only necessary to removecapscrew I2. The meteringpin 8 is guided in a suitable bearing in thecasing I, and when the steam pressure rises to the predetermined amountto open valve I6 the pin 8 then abuts against the end of adjusting screw21 forcing valve l6 open.

The operation of my invention is as follows: Assuming that it is desiredto set the fuel valve IE to operate at twenty-five pounds oil pressurewhen the steam pressure is sixty pounds. Capscrew [2 is removed as isalso regulating nut l3, and screw 2| is adjusted so that metering-pin 8will abut against its left hand end when the steam pressure is sixtypounds, thus opening fuel valve is. If it is desired to adjust thepressure of spring l4 against flange l5, regulating nut I3 is againreplaced and adjusted to control the pressure of said spring to thepredetermined amount. Cap screw 12 is subsequently replaced. There isnow a pressure of twenty-five pounds on the oil from the fuel supplytank, the predetermined pressure of oil for operating the burner andjust below sixty pounds steam pressure valve I6 is open. Should thesteam pressure rise to sixty pounds or above, metering-pin 8- isactuated by bellows 2 to push on the end of screw 2| and open valve l5,thus lay-passing oil into by-pass passage 20 and bypass passage wherebyit returns to the oil supply tank. Thus, when the pressure of the oiltends to exceed twenty-five pounds or that pressure for which it hasbeen set to operate, valve l6 opens and permits some of the oil to bereturned to the oil supply tank. Thus, a regulating valve is providedwhereby the relation of steam and oil pressures may be definitelycontrolled in a relatively'simple, positive and inexpensive manner. If apacking around metering-pin 8 was depended upon to seal off the oil fromchamber II or from inside nut [13, oil might leak into chamber 1 andbuild up a back pressure on bellows 2, but because of the fact that Iallow oil to leak around metering-pin 8 into chamber 1, and preventsufficient oil to be by-passed through equalizing passage 9 into by-pass10, no packing is necessary and no back pressure of oil has to becontended with.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, while I havedescribed the principle of operation of my invention in a specificmanner, it is to be understood that I do not limit my invention theretosince other modifications thereof may be made by those skilled in theart without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United Statesis:

A regulating valve for steam boilers supplied with oil fuel comprising asecondary valve responsive to oil pressure, a bellows, an inlet passageadmitting steam within the bellows, a head for receiving the inner endof the bellows, an adjusting screw in the secondary fuel valve, ametering-pin resting on the bellows receiving head and line with one endof the adjusting screw in the fuel valve, a casing for the valveenclosing a chamber within the casing for leakage oil around the bellowsreceiving. head, a spring around said head, and a second spring aroundthe fuel valve for adjusting the pressure on the latter, adjusting nutfor regulating the pressure on said spring, an oil chamber around thefuel valve, a removable cap screw for affording access to the adjustingdevices adjacent the secondary valve, a by-pass passage for returningoil from the fuel valve chamber to an oil supply tank, an inlet passageto an oil burner connecting udth said latter chamber when the fuel valveis open, and an equalizing passage connecting the leakage oil chamberaround the steam pressure responsive device with the by-pass passagewhereby back pressure of oil on the bellowsis avoided.

SINIUS M. HANSEN.

